In the end Murrayfield was rocking. This might not have been a classic – too many mistakes for that, too little continuity – but it had plenty of high points, plenty of tension and drama. And then it had the result. No one should get carried away, however much the sell-out crowd had cause to roar, but here is another important win for Scotland – and this against the No 3 side in the world, who lately recorded consecutive victories over the world champions.
Murrayfield has been re-established as a formidable fortress for a while now, but there remains the hint of a fault line in Scotland’s confidence in general, which this win should help them work on. And next the world champions, South Africa, come calling. What might a win next weekend do for that confidence.
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“I loved it,” said Stuart Hogg, Scotland’s captain. “We’re chuffed to bits with that. Australia are a very, very good side. The exciting thing for us is we can get better as well. We’ve taken another step forward. There’s still a lot to work on. And the world champions are coming next Saturday. So exciting times.”
Scotland’s two tries, the second midway through the second half a flamboyant dive by the debutant hooker Ewan Ashman, trumped Australia’s one, but the tourists might point to the two they had disallowed in the first half for clear-out infringements. The Wallabies’ first-half performance did not particularly feel of a two-try quality, but Scotland will know the Wallabies denied themselves in both incidents, rather than Scotland stopping them.
Australia might cite, as well, the disruption they have suffered, particularly in their back line with the withdrawal from the tour of Quade Cooper and Samu Kerevi. Their back play did lack a certain fluency. If any side were purring in that department, it was Scotland, now brimming with Lions. Perhaps best of all, though, from Scotland’s point of view, was that this was a tight game, of the type the Scotland of a not-so-distant vintage might well have blown. Here they showed enough class and nerve to claim a well-deserved win.
Quick GuideQuins stage comeback to win at WaspsShow
Harlequins produced another of their spectacular second-half rallies to gain a third consecutive away win over Wasps.
The misfiring champions trailed 16-0 at the interval but it was one-way traffic afterwards as they picked up five points with a bonus-point 26-16 victory.
Luke Northmore scored two tries for the visitors, with Tyrone Green and Scott Steele also crossing and Andre Esterhuizen adding three conversions. Wasps’ points came from a Gabriel Oghre try and three penalties and a conversion from Jacob Umaga.
Harlequins famously came from 28-0 down to beat Bristol in last season’s play-off semi-finals and, in another example of their battling spirit, recently overturned a 21-point deficit to defeat the same opponents, and they were forced to dig deep again
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They turned around 7-3 ahead, but the first half never quite hit the heights. The referee Romain Poite, in his final Test, was moved to blow his whistle for a penalty 17 times. The high point of the early exchanges was a fabulous Hogg break down the left, from which Australia were lucky to escape with just a penalty, but we had to wait until the second quarter for the game’s first score.
The majority of penalties were in Scotland’s favour, but they turned down all early shots at goal. The policy paid off at the third attempt, when a smoothly executed shift drive at a lineout was finished by Hamish Watson.
Ewan Ashman scores Scotland’s second try. Photograph: Russell Cheyne/Reuters
Australia then grew into the game, even if their handling was loose at times. They thought they had equalised, when Michael Hooper scrambled over between the posts, but the preceding clear-out by Allan Alaalatoa fell foul of that dilemma of the modern player – what to do with the arms. Alaalatoa’s clipped the chin of Matt Fagerson, the Scotland tackler, and Alaalatoa was sent to the sin bin. Try rescinded. A let-off, without doubt.
James O’Connor, called up for duty at fly-half, had missed an early penalty horribly, but he was afforded another chance just before the break, which he landed from much the same position. On the board at last, Australia followed up with a try four minutes into the second half, Rob Leota picking a fine line after an attacking scrum to put the Wallabies in the lead.
The match came alive then, but Scotland in particular. Sam Johnson was worked clear on the loop but turned the ball inside to Ali Price, with a Lions winger unmarked outside him.
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No matter, a 50/22 by Finn Russell set up a platform from which Duhan van der Merwe, the Lions winger, was worked clear. A superb tackle by Nic White felled him, but Scotland were on the front foot now. And Australia were running out of front row.
After a couple of HIAs for their tightheads, James Slipper was forced to switch across, and the Scots sensed a weakness. They scrummed two penalties. From the second, Ashman, an early replacement at hooker, finished spectacularly in the corner, the scoring pass supplied by his mate in the front row, Pierre Schoeman.
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Thus Scotland had a two-point lead entering the final quarter. The game became edgy again. Australia did manage to work through the game’s first passage of any significant number of phases, earning a penalty at the end of it, which O’Connor landed to regain the lead with quarter of an hour remaining.
So Scotland turned to the scrum again, earning another penalty, which Russell converted a few minutes later. Australia pressed in the final 10 minutes, but a brilliant turnover and counter saw them back deep into their own territory, where Scotland were able to play out the final minutes. The crowd were ecstatic, not only with the win, but with the sense that their team continues to grow.
